Chances are you haven’t turned on your television or been to the movie theater this summer if you’re somehow unaware of the latest Transformers movie, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I’ve taken my children to several movies this summer and every single one has an action-packed trailer for the Transformers movie during the previews, and every time my son (who is well under 13, and therefore will not be seeing this PG-13 movie) turns to me and says, “That looks so cool!”

Of course, the first Transformers movie met with mixed reviews; some argued that it was a blasphemy against the original concept. Others said it was everything for which die-hard Transformers fans could’ve hoped. In the end, the movie did develop a cult following, and here they are again, hoping to bring in the fans.

Will it be a huge hit? That remains to be seen. The aggregate score over at Rotten Tomatoes remains lukewarm, but that may be enough to keep it around purely on the strength of loyal teenage fans of the male persuasion. And although it’s been years since I was a teen (and I’ve never been a boy!), I have to admit that the trailer does sort of look enticing. What’s not to like about giant robots beating each other up? Nothing, that’s what.

I’ve also become somewhat hooked on the Transformers Live Action Movie Blog, because I’m a sucker for serious fandom. Check it out if you can’t get enough.

And, of course, don’t forget to visit the Transformers Store here at Ty’s Toy Box! The only thing better than giant robots beating each other up is giant robots beating each other up on your t-shirt. I’m sure I heard that somewhere.

Here at Ty’s, we absolutely knew back when we opened the Idbids Store that these tiny crusaders for a better planet were on to something big. But the Idbids have been plenty busy since then.

Not only did Idbids founders Sarah Alvarez and Debbie Smith take home this year’s Wonder Women in Toys Award, they went on to bag the prestigious MAX Grand Award for 2009, as well. What makes the Idbids so special? I think this video sums it up pretty well:

And as if that wasn’t enough, now we have a wide array of personalized Idbids shirts (in organic cotton, natch) available for your little eco-warriors here in the Idbids Store. (I absolutely love the Lola Pretty Is As Pretty Does shirt!)

Here’s to the Idbids, and to the iddy biddy steps that help make a biggie big difference in protecting our world.

Ty Simpson, Founder and CEO of Ty’s Toy Box started this blog over two years ago, to connect with the tens of thousands of moms, dads and grandparents who helped take his business from basement hobby to one of the fastest growing online businesses in the country.

Some of you already know the story and the spirit of which TysToyBox.com came about.  You can read an excerpt by clicking here.  Word of mouth marketing from customers who found hard-to-find television character product that they can’t find anywhere else, continues to drive the business which now employs 70 people!

Now people are talking once again as Ty’s has debuted its personalized apparel program which has been a huge hit with fans of emerging brands like Super Why!, Yo Gabba Gabba, Wow Wow Wubbzy! and many more!

Ty and the employees at Ty’s Toy Box, now want to invite you to Tweet with Ty on Twitter!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Twitter, it is easy!  This video does a pretty good job explaining it:

If you already Tweet, be sure to follow Ty — as he would like for you to join him as he continues to build the company, converse with Toy and Entertainment companies and most importantly — inform you of all the latest new products coming to market.

There may be a few very special offers he’d like to share with you throughout the year as well!

Does your kid love to watch Raggs on TV? Does he or she love to ham it up for the camera?

If you answered “Absolutely!” to both of these questions, today may just be a very exciting day for your family… because today is the day that the Raggs Rockin’ Kids Search begins!

“Raggs,” the hit public television preschool series, [...] will hold auditions from June 1-30 at Raggs.com for 100 kids to appear in a special talk show segment of the series. The winners will be selected based on video submissions, which parents can upload to the Raggs.com website or mail in.

“This is not a talent competition. The goal is to find 100 really animated, talkative and clever kids who represent a diverse sampling of families in our country,” said, Toni Steedman, President and Founder of Raggs LLC. “It is a unique opportunity for the ‘Raggs’ television series to have a direct connection to our viewers.”

(If you’re unfamiliar with the hit preschool show, there’s a section where Dumpster the Cat chats with kids about the show’s theme. It’s completely adorable.)

Refer to their website for all of the official contest rules and such, and then get to taping! Video submissions must be in by the end of this month. And then… maybe your child will get to be part of Raggs at their studio in North Carolina.

Of course, if Junior is trying to decide what to wear for his close-up, allow me to suggest, oh, anything from the Raggs Clothing Store. I can’t promise it’ll give him a leg up, but it can’t hurt, right? Right.

Sure, Memorial Day is traditionally used by many here in the U.S. to mark the unofficial start of summer, or to have the first big barbecue of the season. But little kids don’t care about any of that, so thank goodness that PBS KIDS will be hosting a Memorial Day Super Why! marathon event to keep the small ones happy.

From the site:

This special 2-hour TV marathon features two new episodes and two returning favorite episodes. It also features never-before-seen live-action interviews in-between the episodes in which real kids share their thoughts about what it means to be a hero.

Of course, the only thing that could make the total Super Why! experience even cooler for your kid would be if you scooped up one of our personalized Super Why shirts, but you’re the only one who knows if that’s too much excitement to handle for one day.

And I just noticed that the Alpha Pig to the Rescue shirt comes in adult sizes. I, uh, have to go… do something. Stop looking at me like that.

Here’s to a long weekend filled with the heroes of your choice!

(Free prize giveaway below)

I look at toys every day. As owner of TysToyBox.com that’s pretty much my life (that and my kids homework, sporting events, etc.!)  If you are reading this blog, chances are that you have kids and are pretty in tune with what your kids like or don’t like as well!

But I’ve often wondered if I’d know a good idea if it was, well, still just an idea on the drawing board. Not yet a TV show, not yet a book, and nothing on the toy store shelf.  Focus groups and formulas aside, would I know a good idea if it bit me?

Well, here’s my chance! And since we’re all in this together, Ty’s Blog readers, here’s your chance to play “Queen/King of All New Toy Inventions for a Day!” Will you take a few minutes to look at a new idea we found and tell us what you think?

The inventor used to work at Mattel, so his basic inspiration was to develop a fashion doll that was more interesting than Barbie and less (how shall I say) “sassy” than Bratz. But with all the traditional hair play and clothes play features needed to make it a commercial success.

But here’s his dilemma: It’s not an ordinary fashion doll, but something kind of, well, quirky. And because it’s not in the mold, so to speak, of Barbie or Bratz, it’s a bit more risky.

Two major toy companies have already said, “Creative and cute, but no thanks.” And he has been told by others in the business that they’d be more likely to license the concept if the characters were fairies or mermaids…something more “obvious” and “proven.” Which the inventor hears as, “Make it boring.” He’s of the belief that if it’s fun, and mom smiles when she sees it, it’s a big winner!

So what should he do next?

Does he present it to the next big toy company as is? Does he bring the idea to a smaller toy company? Could he possibly develop the brand by going straight to consumers online? Does he make them mermaids? Or does he call it a day and pat himself on the back for at least having tried?

Ty’s loves to find and promote emerging toys, and it doesn’t get any more “emerging” than the five “Sensational Turtle Girls!” Their story goes something like this:

Since forever, little girls everywhere have closed their eyes and tossed coins into fountains, wishing for their dreams to come true.

What becomes of those wishes? The Sensational Turtle Girls bring little girls’ wishes to life and go with them, together as friends, to “live the wish,” wherever those wishes might lead.

Hidden inside each character’s shell is a “wishing coin.” The promise is that if a little girl uses this special coin to make a wish, believes in the wish with all her heart, her wish will someday come true.

On the back of each wishing coin is a secret code that leads to an online world. Girls who buy Michelle will enter a world of Princesses and fairytale castles in Paris. Those who buy Shelby will go with her and The Girls to the Royal Ballet in London. Rachelle’s wish takes her to the art scene in SoHo. Shelly’s, to a movie premier in Hollywood, and DonnaShella’s to a fashion show in Rome.

 What do you think? We’d love to hear your feedback.

We are giving away a $50 TysToyBox.com gift certificate to one lucky feedback participant (chosen on Monday, May 25). Please provide your comments below.

Ty (The Toybox Daddy)

When my son was about two, he entered the Thomas Phase. I think many boys do this—it’s like they hit a magical age where a switch flips in their brains, and all they see, everywhere they look, is talking trains. We watched the Thomas show, he never wanted to play with anything besides his Thomas trains, and if you had the gall to place any other sort of toy in his hands, he would immediately pretend they were trains. (And really, you haven’t lived until you’ve seen a small boy conducting a conversation between two markers. “You naughty engine!” etc.)

As parents we grew a wee bit tired of the All Thomas, All The Time thing, but we also enjoyed his enthusiasm; so when the Day Out With Thomas tour came to a nearby town, we took him to meet Thomas. And that child just about lost his mind with glee. He kept squealing and exclaiming and pointing and just generally acting like this was way better than Christmas. If you have a little Thomas fan, I cannot recommend this event highly enough. It’s something they’ll remember for a lifetime.

You can view the current Day Out With Thomas schedule to see if Thomas and his pals are coming to a locale near you this year. (I love the way they have this set up, now—you can even buy tickets online! You couldn’t do that back when I took my son years ago.)

Of course, if you want to have the ultimate Thomas experience, surprise your little fan with a personalized Thomas shirt before you go! Ty’s has plenty of styles in stock, although I recommend the Really Useful James shirt. (There was an entire year, there, where “Really Useful” was the highest compliment my kid could offer. Heh. I sort of miss that.) Anyway—go enjoy. The train phase only lasts a few years, so enjoy it while you can!

Earth Day is coming, and that can only mean one thing—you have extra guilt to use as leverage when your kids leave the lights on. Oh, I guess that’s not all it means. But you’re certainly going to want to seize the opportunity to get your kids excited about sharing and caring for our planet, right?

Don’t forget that the U.S. Government has a special page of Earth Day links for kids, to get you started. FamilyEducation.com has some great ideas, too.

Over at the Iddy Biddy Blog, you can read all about the PBS KIDS GO! rev-up for Earth Day, including special themed episodes of many of your favorites, from Curious George to Clifford to Maya and Miguel. And speaking of the Idbids, have you shopped the Idbids Store lately? We have organic cotton Idbids Earth Day shirts ready for personalization; they’re sure to be a hit with your little eco-warrior.

(Of course, we have all of your favorite characters from this month’s eco-themed episodes on PBS here at Ty’s Toy Box, but you already knew that.)

However you choose to get ready for Earth Day, we hope you’ll celebrate!

Did you happen to catch the new Yo Gabba Gabba episode last week on Nick? It was called “New Friends” and starred Jack Black. This behind-the-scenes video will give you a taste of it:

If you missed it, you also need to go visit People.com and watch Black’s Dancey Dance in its entirety. Trust me. You need to see it.

Don’t forget to visit the Yo Gabba Gabba Store here at Ty’s; the “New Friends” DVD (which of course includes Black’s episode on the show) will be released tomorrow—April 7th, 2008—and will be available for purchase immediately. [Edited with an update: Here it is!]

Because, really, who’s not going to want Jack Black’s Dancey Dance in their video library?

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending the licensing kick off for hot new show Super Why!

All key partners were in attendance, including their manufacturers and broadcast partners.

I was able to preview all of the hot new products that will be launching in the coming months and it all looks fantastic.

I, of course, was wearing my personalized Super Why! shirt that I purchased at TysToyBox.com
Speaking of Super Why, he was actually in attendance.

Me and Why (he is actually much taller than he appears on television)